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“Lovely, of course,” Emma added. “But, Molly...I don’t understand. I thought you loved your princess dress.”
“I do. It’s the prettiest dress ever. I am wearing it for my wedding.”
“So whythis?”
“It’s symbolic. This dress represents your marriage, and I’m the product of that marriage, so I wanted a photograph of me wearing this dress. Before, well…” Molly waved her hand in a small circle, silently saying, “Before it’s over.”
Before.Emma shut her eyes.
Molly shrugged and continued, “I’d like you to take a few shots of me in this dress, then I’ll change into mine. Okay, Dad?”
“Whatever you want, honey.”
Inside the parlor, Jared adjusted the lights while Molly rattled on about her recent visit to the ranch. “I’m so glad I decided to poke around in the attic and discovered your gown, Mom. It’s a little short for me—I have Dad’s height—but except for that, it fits perfectly. It’s a beautiful dress, Mom. Maybe someday, my daughter will have her photograph taken while wearing it. I think that would be so cool.”
Emma couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat, so she smiled wanly and nodded.
Jared directed Molly to stand in front of the Christmas tree. He took a dozen or more photos, and the room's mood grew somber with each pose. It didn’t help that Molly decided this was the perfect time to begin a session of “remember when.” Finally, even Jared seemed to have had enough. “I have some really great shots, honey. Why don’t you change into your other dress now?”
“Okay. Except first...Celeste...would you mind? I’d like a picture of the three of us while I’m wearing this dress.”
“Oh, honey,” Emma protested. “I’m not dressed for photographs.”
“It won’t be for your adoring fans, Mother. This is strictly for me. One last family portrait.”
One last family portrait.Emma shut her eyes.
“Molly...” Jared began, but when he faltered, Celeste stepped up and took charge. Before Emma quite realized what was going on, Celeste had positioned them in front of the Christmas tree in the inn’s front parlor. Emma was standing on her daughter’s right, Jared to Molly’s left.
Celeste prattled on about portraits while she snapped off photos with a camera that looked as fancy as Jared’s. Celeste could have been employed as a Broadway choreographer judging by how she posed, propped, and directed hands and feet to hold here and move there. Before Emma caught her breath, the family photos had been taken. Celeste and Molly had quit the room, and she and Jared were alone again.
He kept stealing glances at her. Finally, she’d had enough. “What is it?”
He obviously wrestled with what he intended to say, and Emma braced herself, confident she wouldn’t like it. Finally, Jared sighed. “She sure knows how to pull our strings, doesn’t she? One last family portrait starring your wedding gown? She’s angry with us and pretending not to be. Tell you something else, we should probably have the real photographer do another round of portraits. My camera lens didn’t lie, and she couldn’t hide her emotions. I don’t think she will like what she sees once these portraits are finished.”
Emma nodded. “I’ll talk to the photographer.”
Jared’s attention didn’t waver from her, so Emma raised a brow. “Is there something else?”
“She looks so much like you, Emma. Seeing her today in that dress...it takes me back. It makes me feel twenty years old again. Twenty going on two hundred.”
“She’s a lovely young woman, Jared, inside and out. We can be proud.”
“Yes. I only wish that Molly could be as proud of us.”
Sadly, Emma had no comeback for that observation. Silence fell between them, the only sounds those Jared made as he readjusted his camera equipment. When Celeste hurried into the room a few minutes later with a harried look on her face, Emma seized upon the distraction. “Celeste, has something bad happened?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. I just received a call from our secretary at St. Stephens with some distressing news. Kelly Green slipped on ice on the church steps after the morning service. She broke her ankle, and it puts us in a pickle.”
Emma tried to recall if she knew Kelly Green. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it.
Celeste met Jared’s curious gaze and explained. “Besides being the secretary at St. Stephen’s, Kelly is Eternity Springs’ one and only pianist.”
Oh. Now Emma remembered. Molly and Mason had an appointment on the calendar tomorrow to discuss music choices for the ceremony.
“She doesn’t want you to worry,” Celeste assured them. “She’ll be able to play for Molly’s wedding—even though just between us, she’s nervous about playing in front of you, Emma—but she’s had painkillers today and can’t play tonight. There’s no one to take her place.”
Jared asked, “What’s happening tonight?”
